Fam trip for Belgian planners brings Laos Mood Travel good harvest

Vientiane-based DMC, Laos Mood Travel, is hauling in a good catch of business leads and enquiries following the recent hosting of its first familiarisation trip for Belgian MICE planners and business travel media, an activity jointly organised and sponsored by Thai Airways International Belgium.

The familiarisation trip, which ran from September 21 to 28 and covered Thailand’s Golden Triangle, Pakbeng, Luang Prabang and Vientiane, put participants on a smartphone-based scavenger hunt, a tuk-tuk self-drive contest, a speedboat ride down upper Mekong, an elephant greeting at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort, street food dining, and many other experiences.

In an email interview with TTGmice e-Weekly, Laurent Granier, co-founder and general manager of Laos Mood Travel, said his team is presently creating programmes for Belgian incentive houses, with some of the events due to take place in 2014.

Granier explained that Belgium was targeted due to available air access, provided by THAI’s Brussels-Bangkok flights and a new daily direct Bangkok-Luang Prabang service.

He added: “Belgium is a small and dynamic country, while its capital Brussels (is home to many) corporate headquarters. Moreover, Belgians travel frequently abroad and are bon vivants. Laos and Belgium are both francophone nations and their people favour relaxed lifestyles.

“(Our initiation of this familiarisation trip) is in line with our continuous efforts to promote MICE in Laos,” he said, adding that he is keen to “target emerging markets with (huge) potential, especially from East and North Europe”.

However, Granier said such familiarisation trips were only possible with the support of airlines and pointed out that the presence of “Nordic and Middle Eastern airlines” that fly into Asia have “(brought) Laos closer to their country of origin”.

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